DVD Review: Solaris (2002) (B)

Solaris (2002)
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Starring George Clooney, Natascha McElhone and Viola Davis
MPAA: R
Grade: B

Review by Scott Standish

Director Steven Soderbergh (Full Frontal, Traffic, The Limey, etc.) tackled remaking the sprawling science fiction classic Solaris by cutting it to it's core elements: longing, romance and a questioning of what is truly real. These combine quite effectively to make a fairly strong sci-fi film that is about second chances and what people will do to get them.

George Clooney stars as Kelvin, a troubled psychologist that is called upon to go into space to investigate why a ship sent to the planet Solaris is undergoing turmoil. The commander of the ship has died mysteriously and people aboard the vessel are experiencing hallucinations on a grand scale. As Kelvin soon finds, the planet Solaris may be controlling the minds of the crew by using their memories and desires for a canvas to paint their own versions of reality.

Faster paced than the original, certainly a more polished U.S. audience ready version, yet lacking all of the subtlety, this remake still works as a quality movie. According the IMDB, James Cameron considered directing the Solaris remake first, but decided to produce the film instead. Cameron would certainly have made this more of an action film and that would have been a mistake. Soderbergh deftly keeps the pacing to a slow but steady crawl as the tension builds.

Clooney is decent in the lead role and the material is fairly challenging so he deserves kudos. Daniel Day-Lewis was one of the actors first considered for the role of Kelvin and it's pretty interesting to consider what he would have brought to the table if given the shot.

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